How to pretend you have the confidence when you don't

Despareux · Oct 24, 2011

I want to believe that most experienced, and new, nurses understand what fundamental students go through. They may even giggle silently while reminiscing about their fundamentals experience.

I really hated fundamentals. But now that I am in my 4th quarter, I'm so grateful for all the ups and downs I experienced during my 1st quarter. As you near your last quarter/semester, you will surely feel significantly more confident compared to your fundamentals experience. Hang in there. :)

Pneumothorax, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2011

my first semester of clinicals wasnt so bad, but it was still a new experience for me. So when i was caring for a patient , giving a med or injection, i would just tell them it was my first day, something like that to break the tension and laugh a little bit.

I dont think u need to fake the confidence. your instructor knows its your first day or so...shes /hes not going to expect you to know it all off the bat.. this is the time to annoy the crap out of them and ask as mannnnnny questions as you can when youre unsure. Eventually you will get the hang of it all and build confidence :)

allnurses Guide · Oct 24, 2011

Confidence in this situation does not mean pretending you know everything or trying to give the impression you are not inexperienced when you are. It is more being willing to try, handling it with a smile and a "I can do this/learn this" attitude, not hanging back, accepting constructive criticism, not dissolving into tears and being willing to discuss what worked and what did not later in postconference.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 24, 2011

I think with more exposure and with more experience you will gain confidence. Even as a new nurse confidence may be an issue, but I promise with time it will get better.

One night I was taking care of a patient with a HR that kept going down to the 40's - asymptomatic except for a few episodes of dizziness. Patient's urine output was fine, LOC was fine, skin was warm & dry with palpable pulses, no chest pain or SOB (basically the patient was hemodynamically stable) but I was still very concerned. I looked through the vital signs trends and noticed that this patient's HR did not drop this low previously, so this was something new. Maybe they needed a pacemaker? Regardless, I kept checking on the patient. I told them I apologized for having to keep bothering them in the middle of the night, but I was concerned because of their HR. The patient said to me, "well for being concerned you don't look scared at all! That's a good thing." That really made my night, because honestly I was dying inside lol. I was afraid that HR would keep dropping and then I would have to push some atropine or call a code or something.

Another night I had a patient fall...I felt horrible because I literally checked on this patient 20 minutes prior and asked if they needed to go to the bathroom or anything. They were dry. Patient was A&Ox3. 20 minutes later we all heard a loud THUD, so we all sprang up and started poking our heads in the nearby rooms. And there was my patient, sitting on their bottom with their back against the wall. Patient stated they hit their head but said they were fine. Did a focused neuro assessment, checked their skin and extremities for any signs of injury, and everything was fine. Notified the doc and got an order for a stat head CT. Afterwards I was freaking out wondering if I forgot to do something but my coworker reassured me that I did everything right and not to worry.

And all throughout school, I was constantly told that I had confidence issues. Doesn't mean that have confidence issues will make you a bad nurse. As I mentioned, gaining confidence comes with time. Ask for feedback and constructive criticism from your peers and instructors. Do you have post-conferences? During our post-conferences we would talk about our patients and our experiences during that day, which helped. Talking about experiences with coworkers helps, too, such as the above example for when one of my patients fell.

Hang in there! :redbeathe

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Oct 24, 2011

I don't think it's exactly faking confidence but just dive in head first and try not to be scared. Thats what I try to do and you will make silly mistakes, I have. The best advice I can give is when you do jump in and try even if you make a mistake the more you do something the better you get at it. Thats my attitude. I also try to take my time, even though everything is rush rush you still can just take a second to get yourself prepared before you do something. I also never tell a patient its my first day or time doing something, I know you shouldn't have to fake confidence but I do in front of patients because if their more comfortable then you will be. Just see and do as much as you can and you will start being more comfortable with yourself and your skills and then the confidence wil come. I love clinicals, they really are an oppurtunity for you to connect everything together, gain confidence in yourself, and for me it's really made me feel good about my choice of majors.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 24, 2011

Confidence in this situation does not mean pretending you know everything or trying to give the impression you are not inexperienced when you are. It is more being willing to try, handling it with a smile and a "I can do this/learn this" attitude, not hanging back, accepting constructive criticism, not dissolving into tears and being willing to discuss what worked and what did not later in postconference.

I totally agree with this response. Don't try to "fake it" or appear to know more than you actually do. That would be a "lie" of sorts and could actually be dangerous if people start believing that you have more knowledge and skills than you actually have and start counting on you to perform at a level higher than you are capable of.

Instead ... focus on you projecting a positive belief in yourself as a student -- a student who is capable of learning. You don't have experience yet, and still have questions ... but you are confident in your ability to learn. If you can develop that inner confidence in yourself as a learner, it will show through. You will have the appearance of a strong, capable student -- someone who is still learning, but someone who IS learning successfully.

Java Mama · Oct 25, 2011

Thanks for the replies everyone. I do want to clarify something. Maybe I shouldn't have picked the word "fake" it, cause believe me, I would never act like I can do everything, I know I can't. I just want to look/act more confidently even when I don't feel like I know what I am doing. :) I will always ask questions or ask for help if I don't know something. I would never want to put a patient at risk. I really appreciate all the responses, thanks so much!

hsienko · Oct 25, 2011

I remember the start of nursing school. I used to shake so bad everytime I was trying to give a subQ that I would joke it off and tell the pt I'm just making sure that i get the insulin gets mixed up good - not to mention having to use a shelf to rest needles on to draw medications from the vials because i was so nervous from being watched by my instructors....

Confidence comes with time, and practice, and realizing the instructor's not gonna send you home for missing an iv stick....and finding out the patient isn't gonna scream bloody murder and refuse your care.

The biggest confidence booster honestly is as a new nursing student with just 1 or relatively few patients you have the TIME to give a patient exceptional (even if it's slow) care, companionship and therapeutic communication.

The bed making and basic skills stuff will fall in place eventually but try to make sure you always have a good bed side manner.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 25, 2011

Don't try to "fake it" or appear to know more than you actually do. That would be a "lie" of sorts and could actually be dangerous if people start believing that you have more knowledge and skills than you actually have and start counting on you to perform at a level higher than you are capable of.
Instead ... focus on you projecting a positive belief in yourself as a student -- a student who is capable of learning. You don't have experience yet, and still have questions ... but you are confident in your ability to learn. If you can develop that inner confidence in yourself as a learner, it will show through. You will have the appearance of a strong, capable student -- someone who is still learning, but someone who IS learning successfully.

Absolutely agree :up: :up: :up:

Appearing to know more than you actually do is dangerous. It is okay to be honest. Never act like you know everything - that is dangerous for any nurse. No one can possibly know everything. Nursing is a forever on-going learning process - you will learn something new every day, whether it is something new about a disease or a new type of treatment/medication that came out, or new equipment. If there comes a time where you know everything in a profession, perhaps it is time to move on. :twocents:

oneaware · Oct 25, 2011

Hi,

I know just how you feel. I am a Senior 1 but still feel "green" at every clinical. Take pride in knowing that being accepted into nursing school shows that you have the ability to grow and develop into a profesional nurse. Others believe this as well, aeb you being accepted into the program. The nurse who threw you in there knows that the only way to gain confidence is by doing it. It can be a very scary and nerve-wracking experience for the new student nurse. I don't have any awesome advice on building confidence. I'll just say what really helped me was just reminding myself every day that although I may feel scared and anxious about some things, It Is Not About Me. It is hard when patients die, and it's hard to clean stool or other bodily fluids from other people, but above all, It Is Not About Me.

Real nurses are teachers first and foremost, and being humble and receptive, asking questions and striving to learn, will be a great boost to you. Good luck, and just think through all of it.

DM